Creating a future that works for everyone requires voices and participation from, well, everyone. All too often decisions are made that impact communities, families and students without those groups getting to weigh in. Rapid changes in our environment, economy and education systems demand that we think quicker, design with the future in mind, and try to anticipate as many barriers and challenges ahead of time as we can.

Fortunately, technology can (when used appropriately) allow us to include and provide access to communities that might not have been a part of the conversation before so that we can formulate ideas that will better meet their needs and goals.

Virtual reality (VR) is one tool that can help young people envision what a different future might look like. VR can also provide young people—regardless of where they live—opportunities to engage with others from around the world whom they might not have had the chance to otherwise. Across the country, K-12 students are leading with VR.

The VR + ED conference, Students as Makers: The Future of VR, highlighted a few of these student leaders and their work. The conference “was created to support and expand VR programs in education. [Our] goal is to empower current student VR makers and help education tech leaders bring the best of VR into more classrooms.” The conference highlighted just a few of the ways in which students are using VR to contribute to their communities.

60% of Africans are under the age of 30. Every year, 12 million youths enter the labor market, yet, there are only jobs for 2–3 million. To create millions of jobs and unleash a new wave of prosperity across Africa, Tony Elumelu is staking $100M of his own wealth over a 10-year period to generate $10 billion in new revenue, create 10,000 new businesses and provide 1,000,000 new jobs. Tony’s bold vision is the reason the largest Pan-African gathering of entrepreneurs happened in Lagos, Nigeria on the 13th & 14th of October. Relationships were built, Networks were formed and partnerships were forged. But how did it all happen?
Each year since 2015, Tony Elumelu has been changing the lives of 1,000 African entrepreneurs like me who have big ideas but lack funding. Zounon Kevin from Ivory Coast says the grant will help finance his electronic payment system which processes cards using an android phone instead of POS, and is poised to give low income population access to microcredit. These entrepreneurs with diverse cutting-edge ideas not only proffer solutions to Africa’s problems but employ other teeming youths, helping to reduce unemployment across the continent. Tony Elumelu’s generosity is driven by his inclusive economic philosophy of Africapitalism; the belief that a vibrant African-led private sector, with significant participation from entrepreneurs, is the key to unlocking Africa’s economic & social potential.
Read the full article by Ogunbowale Olugbenga about Africa capitalism from Medium

Looking for a way to get involved?

Civil Society is a fascinating topic, and others found these events, galas, conferences and volunteering opportunities aggregated by Giving Compass to be relevant for individuals with a passion for Civil Society.